You don’t pay $5 for drizzle.

My wife and I stopped in at a fancy coffee-shop and ordered 2 limited-time-only specialty beverages. The posters advertising the beverages show a delightful mound of chocolate whipped cream, chocolate syrup drizzle, and some sort of sweet sprinkles.

We had to take these drinks to-go, and as the barista handed us the first one, my wife noticed that there was a paltry amount of whipped topping, and no other niceties. She was going to just shrug it off and walk away, but I insisted (much to her embarrassment) that we ask for the advertised toppings. The other barista (the one who wasn’t making our drinks) obliged us with some chocolate syrup. Then, when my drink was proffered with none of the advertised accouterments, I politely asked for them to be added as well (whip and drizzle–sprinkles were nowhere to be seen).

Based on the promise of the advertisement and the inflated purchase price (a splurge on our part), our expectations were high.

As we drove away, we both came to the same disappointing realization: both drinks were dishwater-bland. No amount of chocolate syrup would fix it.

Here’s the takeaway: No amount of syrup, whipped cream, or sprinkles will make dishwater taste like coffee.

And this truth can be applied to books, blogs, and Sunday morning sermons.